Stamp-affixing machine.



G. A. SEELY.

STAMP AFFIXING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED, Auefz'l. 1915'.

, 2 SHEETS-SHEET'1.

G oRGE sEELY, or EMMnTsnURG, 16m. i

' STAMPLAFFIXING MACHINE.

.To all whom, it may concern:

Be it'known that I, GEORGE A- SEELY,\L citizen of the United States, residing at Emmetsburg, in the county of Palo Alto and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp-; Affixing Machines, of which the following isa specification. I j

My invention relates to a stamp aflixingmm chine, and is adapted to accommodate the standard stamp sheet, that is to say, a sheet of stamps divided laterally and longitudi nally into rows.

It is one'of the objects of my invention to provide a machine of this character which will receive the standard sheet of stamps, and may be operated to affix one'stamp at a time, means being provided for severing the stamp from the sheet. l 7

Another object resides in providing means for moistening the letter to which the'stamp is tobe affixed, prior to the affixing opera- 1 tion.

And, a still further objectconsists in providing means for successively advancing and alining a row of stamps in position to be severed and affixed one at a time. 7 1

l/Vith the above and other objects in view, I will now proceed to describe the preferred form of the invention which I have illustrated in the annexed drawings forming a part of this specification and in which: 5

:Figure l; is a side e1evation of, the preferred form of machine.

Fig. 2 is a top plan vieweof a portion of the machineshown in Fig. l.

- Fig. 3 is a sectionalelevationon the line 33 of Fig. 2.

frame 1 adapted to receive a till 2 for;hold-... ing a sheet of stamps 3. At the forward side the frame 1 carries a letter support 4 and a plurality of stamp sections 5, each of wh h is rm d Wi h a b ade 6 pa allel Specification of Letters Patent;

-i' fatented Deo. 18,"191 '7.

Applicationfiled August 27, 1915. Serial No. '.47,657.

with, and. fastened to the forward side of the frame 1 by meansofscrews 7 The forward edge of the frame 1 carries the rider bars 8 and 9 notched to receive the laterally extending blades 1Q which ,divide the said rider bars 'into a plurality of stamp SEC-f a;

tions 5. Slidablewalong the, said rider, bars is a member 11 whichcont-airis theplunger 12 held in'an upward position Within the said member 11 by means of a spring-13, and is capable of being depressed when desiredto affix the stamp. The said plunger member carries at itsupp er end a knob 14 and is equipped adjacent its lower end with a detent 15 which engageskwith notches 16in the rider bar 8 so as to aline the said plun :3 l

gers over the different sections 5 in tion to affix stamps. At :eachend o .the rider bars is secured an adjustable bracket 16 for limiting the movement of the plunger member 11 sothat the latter cannot slide out of the rider bars. I H Y i The till 2 is provided at-each side with grooves 17 and in the center with apertures 18 whichare spaced apart the distance of one row of stamps. Seated on thetill 2 is a gage or guide member 19 which carries ateach end, between the lugs 20,-a block 21 provided with I pins 22 p which project through openings 23 infthe said; gage or guide member and enter the grooves At the center the guidevmember is provided with a knob, 24 beneath which is located a spring controlled pin 2 5 which is for eng,

gagement within. the apertures 18 in inofv mg the gage l9 .to adjust .t'he"stamps.' The sheet of stamps .is dispos'ed in the said till with its rear edge in engagement with the member 19, and'its forward edge in guide alinement with the blades- 6., j I v The moistener comprises a, bracket 26 located at one side of the frame 1 fahdlhav A ing swiveled therein the arm 27.;c ontrolled.

by the, spring ,28, sothat the said arm. is

yieldably maintained in raised position. j At its forwardend the arm 27 carries a knob 28 and is recessedat 29lon' itsunder side to receive ,a'brush element 30 of substantially the width inj one direction of' the stamp; This brush member '30 is held in place by the wall 31 ofa reservoir melliber .32 which is screwed or otherwise secured to the arms 27 by means of the members" 33. The reservoir member 32 is apertured as shown at 34 so as to feed water to the brush 30, and by suitable use of this moistening member the letter may be dampened sufficiently to cause the stamp to adhere thereto when applied.

The operation is as follows:

As before stated the sheet of stamps 3," divided into rows, is placed in the till 2 with its rear edge in engagement with the gage 19. When in thisposition the gage is moved forward sufiiciently to bring a row of stamps inalinement over the stamp sections '5. The lettersto be stamped are moistened by placing them under the brush 30 and depressing the-lever 27 until the brush contacts with the letter. After the letters have been so dampened they are placed on the letter supporting member 4 with the proper portion to affix the stamp directly beneath one of the sections 5 over which a stamp ofthe' sheet 3 is now disposed/ The plunger member is then moved over the said section and depressed by a blow on the handle 14:. This causes the'perforations in the stamp sheet to engage with the blades 10 and 6 and sever the stamp which is carried downwardly into proper affixing position by means of the plunger 12, and thus the stamp is' literally sheared from the sheet and is applied to'the moistened portion of the letter by the pressure exerted on the handle member 1a. Each time, a stamp is afliXed the plunger member is moved from over the empty section down the line of sections so as to use the entire row of stamps. l/Vhen the row of stamps over the section has been exhausted, the pin member 25 is disengaged from its member 18' and moved forwardly to the next adjacent aperture thereby disposing another row of stamps over the stamp sections when the machine is again ready for use.

It is of course to be understood that the sheets ofstamps 3 might be manufactured so" that the different rows were of different denominations in which case the operator of the machine could select the denomination of" stamp required by the particular letter.

It is also to be understood that a plurality of these devices such as described maybe arranged in continuation so as to accommodate any number and many denominations of stamps.

It is desirable and practical toinclose the till by a glass cover, such cover having been omitted from the present drawing for the sake of avoiding confusion.

While I, have herein described a specific form of my invention, it is, however, to be understood that various modifications and copies of this patent mayv be obtained for alterations of the arrangement and construction of parts may be resorted to in practice, without inany way departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a stamp affixing machine, the combination with affiXing means, of a till for receiving a sheet of stamps and being provided in its central,portion-witha longitudinal series of spaced openings, the said openingsbeingspaced apart a distance equal to thewidth of a stamp, a guide member arranged upon the bottom of said till and being capable of. moving longitudinally therein, a detent carried by said guide and being adapted to engage in said openings, and means for yieldably holding said detent at the limit of its downward movement.

2. In a stamp aii'iXing machine, the combination with aflixing means, of a till for receiving a sheet of stamps and being provided in its central portion with a longitudinal series of spaced openings, the said openings being spaced apart a distance'equal to the width of a stamp, a guide member slidablyarranged within said till andex tending entirely across the same, a detent carried by said guide and extending downwardly through the same and being adapted to engage within said openings, and a spring normally holding saiddetent at the limit of its downward movement.

3. In a stamp a'tlixing machine, the combination with al'iixingmeans, of a till for receiving a sheet of stamps and being provided in its centralportion with a longitudinal series of spaced openings,'the said openings being spaced apart a distance equal to the width of a stamp, the bottom of said till adjacent the lateral edges: thereof being provided with spaced longitudinally disposed grooves, a guide arranged for sliding movement within said till and extending entirely across the same, a block carried at each end of said guide and being capable of moving toward and away from said bottom, pins on said blocks extending through said guide and being adapted to engage'i-n said grooves, and a detent carried by said guide for engagement within said openings.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE A. .SEELY.

Witnesses A. J. BURT, D. D. JOHNSON.

Washington, D. C." 

